


demarcation

by helsinkibaby



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Boss-Subordinate relationship, F/M, Fictober, Het, Romance, Secret Relationship, Vega Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:48:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27014530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: Michelle screws up at work.
Relationships: Kimball Cho/Michelle Vega
Kudos: 10





	demarcation

**Author's Note:**

> For fictober day 5 “unacceptable. Try again “

Michelle knows Cho is pissed the second she steps into his office. He’s standing behind his desk, back ramrod straight, arms crossed over his chest and the glower on his face would make a lesser agent run for cover. 

Hell, Michelle’s considering it right now, even if she knows the mere notion would make her army bred father roll over in his grave. 

“Close the door, Vega.” 

Cho’s a man of few words so she’s not expecting a speech but the tone of his voice lowers the temperature in the room by about four degrees. She does as she’s told, stands in front of the desk with her hands clasped behind her back. It’s less to do with military posture than it is to hide their sudden shake. 

“You want to tell me what you were thinking?” The words are clipped, bitten off. Cho’s jaw is clenched tight, lips barely moving. 

Michelle ups her estimate of how pissed off he actually is. 

“I was thinking that I could break the case by-”

“Going into a house on your own without any backup.” 

“I knew Wiley was on the other side of the lot, he was coming after me-”

“Unacceptable.” Cho throws the word out like a bullet and Michelle flinches. “Try again.” 

Michelle takes a deep breath, lets it out slowly. “I’m sorry.” That’s the first thing she’s said all day that truly surprises him. She can see it in the slight dilation of his pupils, the tiny parting of his lips. “I should have waited for backup. I should have called it in. I’m sorry.” 

Cho narrows his eyes. “Do you mean that?” he demands. “Or are you just saying what you want it to hear?” 

It’s probably a bit of both but she knows better than to say that. “I’m really sorry,” she says. “It won’t happen again.” 

“It better not, Vega.” She nods. “I mean it. I should suspend you for that stunt.” That makes her head snap up and there’s the faintest hint of amusement in his eyes. “But I won’t.” 

She breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank you.” 

“Don’t let it happen again.” It’s a dismissal and she takes it as such, heading back into the bullpen and her desk and the paperwork that a botched raid brings. 

Later that night, she’s putting the finishing touches to dinner when she hears a key turn in the lock. She moves towards the sound, watches as Kimball - not Cho, not here - puts his gun and badge in the gun safe, takes off his jacket and hangs it on the coat rack. He turns then and, when he sees her standing there, a smile comes to his lips. 

His smile, rare and wonderful, can often make her a little weak in the knees. That, combined with the relief she feels coursing through her veins, she’s more than a little unsteady as she closes the distance between him, wraps her arms around his neck and holds on tightly. 

His hands slide down her back, coming to rest on her hips. He pulls back a little, brushes his lips across hers. “Rough day,” he says, statement rather than question, and she nods as her fingers play with the buttons of his shirt. 

“I really screwed up,” she tells him, like he doesn’t already know that. “My boss chewed me out good.” 

“Funny.” His lips twitch. “Sounds like something that happened to me too.” His fingers flex on her hips. “But I don’t want to talk about work right now.” 

Michelle lets out a shaky breath. She knows their agreement -work is work, home is home and the separate car rides there and back are a line of demarcation they just won’t cross - but this is the first time it’s ever been tested and she can’t quite believe he’s letting it drop so easily. “You don’t?” She asks and this time, the expression that comes to his face isn’t a smile, but it still makes her knees weak. 

“No,” he says, “I don’t.” 

And when he kisses her, backs her up against the wall and presses his body against hers, she understands him perfectly.


End file.
